


Just another Cinderella AU

by MegaLia



Category: K-pop, VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Fluff, Friendship, Happy Ending, Humor, Idiots in Love, M/M, Minor Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:42:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28510617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaLia/pseuds/MegaLia
Summary: Cha Hakyeon, Fairy Godparent extraordinaire, is just trying to find a suitable spouse for his Protege Prince Han Sanghyuk. What better way to that than a ball, right? Wrong. Why? Because Han Sanghyuk just has to fall for the mysterious stranger and now it's on them to seek out said mysterious stranger. While on their quest though, Hakyeon finds even more than he'd bargained for.
Relationships: Cha Hakyeon | N/Jung Taekwoon | Leo, Han Sanghyuk | Hyuk/Lee Hongbin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> I'm back with a new Fic for VIXX! Hurray!! XD
> 
> This is something that I've started writing years ago and never really had the motivation to finish until I got hit by the sudden urge to write and in a matter of days this was created. It's about 14.300 words long so I've decided to split it into more manageable chapters ;) 
> 
> This is totally inspired by all the Cinderella content out there mixed with a hint of the Cartoon Fairly Oddparents. I know crazy, but definitely worth the read. I had loads of fun writing it and I hope you like it as well ^w^
> 
> Please leave a Kudo and maybe a tiny little comment? Pretty please? It is really hard to be an Author these days with all those crazily good Fanfictions on here so I'd really appreciate a little bit of feedback, if you have some to spare *^* 
> 
> Alright then, without further ado, let's jump right into it ;)

The live of King Han Nam-Seon was coming to an early end due to a deadly disease. The Kingdom of Seoul needed a replacement and who would be a better fit than the King's very own child? That's right, no one. Except that Sanghyuk couldn't simply take over as his fathers successor yet.

Why couldn't Prince Han Sanghyuk become king you may ask? Simply because he wasn't married. It was a rule that the prince had to marry before officially being pronounced King. A stupid rule if you'd ask Hakyeon, but if Sanghyuk wasn't married before his fathers ultimate demise the next royal candidate with a spouse would be the rightful King. And that candidate would be Prince Han Sanghyuk's cousin Hwang Gyeong-Su from Uljin.

Hwang Gyeong-Su wasn't a good person. His people were under total surveillance. There was no such thing like freedom of speech or really any kind of freedom. You were against his regime? Either keep it to yourself or suffer from the consequences, like the sudden disappearance of your loved ones to name just one example. Yes, he was horrible and reigned his country with an iron fist and generally was an ugly person. From the inside as well as the outside. Of course, Hakyeon wasn't one to judge by looks but honestly a red cape and a purple shirt? That combination just made a shower run down Hakyeon's spine.

But back to the main story. Hakyeon wasn't here to talk about Gyeong-Su. He was here to talk about Prince Han Sanghyuk's story which started at the prince's birth.

Hakyeon remembers the day as if it were yesterday when he got his new assignment as a Fairy Godfather. It was a wonderful day. The sun was shining, mother nature was doused in bright colours and a gentle breeze carried the songs of the birds through the Kingdom of Seoul. Everyone was happily celebrating the birth of the first royal baby in years. The Castle was decorated in the most beautiful shades of blue and everything was in perfect order when Hakyeon arrived. The King and the Queen, while surprised, had welcomed him with open arms.

To say that Hakyeon was nervous would be an understatement. It wasn't his first assignment, in fact it was his tenth already, but he was always nervous in the beginning. What if the kid would grow to hate him? What if the kid was an asshole that just wished for their selfish desires without caring about others? Hakyeon hated such wishes but he wasn't allowed to deny them to his protegees. The chance was rare, but he had heard stories were the kids grew up to be either mass murderers, power-hungry tyrants or generally just bad people that did bad things. 

As always Hakyeon's worries seemed to flow out the window to be carried away by the gentle afternoon breeze as soon as he laid his eyes upon the little creature that was nestled up in a huge layer of blankets. But Hakyeon, what if he's going to change one day and become one of those ugly beasts? Well that wasn't the case. As a Fairy Godparent it was one of his gifts to see if a kid was going to grow up into a responsible human being or a stupid monster. Little prince Sanghyuk fell right into the first category with his ebony brown hair, cute little nose and those huge doe eyes that seemed to take over half of his face. He would be a good one. Oh, and a fighter too. The strong aura surrounding him told Hakyeon that this one would be a great and fair king that will do everything to keep his Kingdom and its people safe one day.

With a smile Hakyeon had summoned his very first gift for the little prince: A sleek silver bracelet with lots of gems embedded into it. Don't judge him, every Godparent had a different way of putting their protection on their protege, Hakyeon just liked sparkly things. The bracelet couldn't be taken off until Hakyeon had fulfilled his mission and wasn't needed anymore. 

The years went by like that. Hakyeon watched Sanghyuk grow up and was always there to guide the little boy on his journey through the big wide world. Big wide world meaning life in general. Dear god he wouldn't let a little kid go on a journey through the whole world, that would be suicidal. Also, it would cost him his job and Hakyeon quite liked his job so no world discovering. He was there to help him through everything Destiny decided to throw at Sanghyuk. It wasn't much but the things Destiny did throw at him were harsh to say the least.

At seven years his mother was killed by an assassin sent by the neighboring kingdom. Following this event, Seoul lost three long, pain filled years to war that cost way too many innocent lives. There were many times the king asked for Hakyeon's help but as much as he wanted to help, he couldn't. His magic didn't work that way. The only time it works is if it's through a wish from the protege. Of course, they tried it by letting Sanghyuk make the wish, but the thing was, he could only fulfill wishes that would concern Sanghyuk and no matter what circumstances, he couldn't prevent Destinies plans. In other words, the only thing Hakyeon could really do was watch over little Sanghyuk and keep him safe from harm’s way.

Now war wasn't something a seven-year-old should live through but surprisingly Sanghyuk managed it quite well. He wasn't concerned about danger which was, to be honest, a bit frightening. What seven-year-old isn't scarred by the constant clash of weapons and explosions raging throughout the whole country? Not one Hakyeon had seen before. Hakyeon also noticed that Sanghyuk was taking a great interest in his father’s war councils. Whenever there was a meeting to discuss the army's strategies Sanghyuk would stay and watch. Of course, no one was completely sure about letting him stay but as long as he was silent there was nothing they could really do against it. It stayed like this at first. Sanghyuk's father and his advisor’s discussing about their next moves while Sanghyuk himself sat next to his father as a silent observer.

But Sanghyuk wasn't dumb. Hakyeon had known this from the very first second, he had looked at the little baby snuggled up under a mountain of blankets. Sanghyuk was a quick learner and soon he wasn't the silent observer anymore and instead made suggestions about other possible strategies. It was quite disturbing, and no one really took him seriously because _he's a damn kid_.

Hakyeon on the other hand wasn't in any position to question his proteges ideas right from the beginning. So instead he listened to what the younger was suggesting, and he had to admit that there had been a few good ideas. Sure, they weren't solid in any way seeing as Sanghyuk still had the innocent mind of a little kid but all in all there were a few very nice solutions. Hakyeon told the King as much and seeing as Hakyeon was older and wiser than all of the council members together they didn't instantly discard the ideas.

So, with Hakyeon's help the adults finally stopped ignoring Sanghyuk's approaches and instead took them into consideration. They were good, because they were different. Most strategists made their plans based on what has already been done by their fathers or teachers or god knows who. Sanghyuk on the other hand wasn't only limited to the things he had learnt from others. He had ideas that hadn't been there before and that was what would later on make Sanghyuk a master strategist.

But there was still time for obtaining that title. For now, they had barely managed to win the war after those three years of chaos. It was a hard time for Seoul. Sure, the war was harder but the aftermath wasn't exactly a bed of roses either. It took another three years for the country to get back to its old strength but eventually they managed. There was finally peace in the life of Sanghyuk and he could grow up like a normal boy. Alright not as normal as someone who wouldn't one day lead a country. Not that Sanghyuk had a problem with that instead he took pride in learning his fathers trade. 

Obviously King Nam-Seon was proud that his son was so interested in learning how to rule their country so it was on Hakyeon to drag the boy away from those things every now and then. It wasn't good for a growing boy to constantly be bombarded with such things. Sure, he needed to learn but he also needed to be a kid sometimes and that was where Hakyeon came in. He took the boy on adventurous treasure hunts through Seoul, pulled one or two pranks on the unsuspecting castle employees together with Sanghyuk and generally helped the kid discover different hobbies besides leading a country. Under Hakyeon's guidance the boy took up a liking for dancing as well as singing once his voice had stopped cracking during every second sentence.

Yes, Hakyeon thought he did a pretty good job to creating a good childhood for the boy who now wasn't a boy anymore. With his voice dropping several octaves the innocent little boy Hakyeon had spent time with all those years was gone, replaced by a handsome young man at least one and a half heads towering over Hakyeon himself, with striking blond hair, and a sharp jaw line.

The only thing that still stayed the same was his mind. Sure, he had matured more over the years, but he was still the mischievous little boy that wouldn't let himself be ignored and did what he wanted. Hakyeon didn't care if his looks were different. For him he would always stay the little creature almost suffocated by thousands of blankets, only the cute little nose and the huge doe eyes looking up at him from beneath all those blankets.

The years went by and when Sanghyuk turned 21 his father fell ill. It was a rare disease called the Steel Death because there was nothing one could do against it. It had the affected’s body enclosed in a kind of steel wall that wouldn't let any medicine get through, thus being able to destroy every organ one by one. It was a horrible disease and there was nothing one could do. It was also one of the rare occasions were Hakyeon couldn't even help Sanghyuk with his magic should his protege ever fall under the Steel Death's spell himself.

So King Nam-Seon was undoubtedly going to die and there was nothing one could do against it and if that wasn't horrible enough Sanghyuk couldn't take over his father’s place as it was. You remember the creepy cousin no one likes from the beginning? Yeah well that one would be able to because he has a wife. It's a mystery to Hakyeon how he had managed that but oh well, love was strange.

 _But can't Sanghyuk just take the throne back once he has found someone to marry,_ one may ask? Yeah well _no_. Hakyeon wasn't quite sure who had thought up such an inane law but as it was, once the Creep took over, Sanghyuk could only get the throne back if Creep stepped back or if he died.

But Hakyeon had a plan.

How could you meet a suitable spouse in no time at all? Simply by throwing a royal ball. Hakyeon had to admit that he wasn't all too proud of his plan because really, he was all for marrying the one and only love of your life and not just because you had to but in this case they had to make an exception. Also, it wasn't as if Sanghyuk was against that idea. He didn't want to marry just anyone, but he also didn't want to lose the kingdom to his cousin that would ultimately throw the people in some kind of dictatorship. Sanghyuk loved Seoul way too much to let something like that happen to it so he had no other choice but to agree with Hakyeon's plan.

What surprised Hakyeon though was that Sanghyuk not only wanted candidates of royal blood but every candidate that was willing to marry him, peasant or not. Sanghyuk wasn't stupid and Hakyeon knew that there had to be something behind that kind of wish and who was Hakyeon to not grant his protege his wish? It would heighten Sanghyuk's chances at finding _the one_ as well, so why the hell not.

And that's where the story actually starts.

It was the day of the royal ball and the halls of the castle were beautifully decorated. Every surface was dust free and the windows polished spotless. The food for the hundreds of guests was being cooked down in the kitchens, while the maids were busy cleaning and straightening the royal family's clothes. Everyone was quite excited about the upcoming event. The last real feast was held on the day of the prince's birth. Otherwise the royal family kept to themselves. Not even birthdays were celebrated in a grand festival. The king and queen simply didn't like to have too much strangers in their home. There had been too many occasions in the past where such festivities ended in a crime scene. 

So yes, everyone was quite excited and therefore made sure that everything looked perfect. Hakyeon all the way on the front line.

“No, a bit more to the left.”

“Were should I put those flowers,” one of the servants asked, his arms carrying a huge pot of white Lily's and Hakyeon couldn't help the groan escaping his throat.

“Next to the door of course. Honestly, I told you this a thousand times already-” he glanced at the other servant situating the banquet- “No! Stop! I said a _bit_ more to the left and not _on the left end of the table_ you fool! Seriously, what is wrong with you?”

“I see you're having fun,” Sanghyuk said as he walked up next to Hakyeon. The Fairy Godfather gave another bone deep groan as he rubbed the space between his eyes.

“I can't believe it. Everyone knows that you put the cake in the middle of the table and not on the fucking end of it!”

“Wow, watch your language, Hakyeon,” the prince joked and only earned a glare for his troubles.

“Fuck you, Sanghyuk.”

Yes, Sanghyuk was a Prince and had it been anyone else they'd probably been punished already, but Hakyeon had put up with the Prince's shit for over 20 years now. He had _privileges_.

“Hey, don't stress yourself so much. I can already see your wrinkles getting deeper and deeper by the second.”

The Prince quickly sidestepped the oncoming neck chop. Having dealt with Hakyeon's passive aggressive actions for over 20 years as well he had learnt how to dodge them best.

“I'll give you wrinkles if you don't keep that mouth of yours shut!”

“And I'd like to see you try old man.”

Judging by the steam rising from Hakyeon's head, Sanghyuk knew that he should probably start running now and he did, not one second too late. He quickly fled the ball room, Hakyeon hot on his heels shouting all kinds of profanities and threats after him. Though they were overshadowed by the hollering laugh of Sanghyuk as he took a sharp left turn straight into the palace gardens.

Damn that little monster, Hakyeon thought once he noticed where Sanghyuk was leading them. Still, Hakyeon didn't really care. He wouldn't admit it, but he was glad about the distraction.

Finally, outside Hakyeon had enough of the youngers antics and used a bit of magic to animate one of the trees to grow their roots right into Sanghyuk's way. The young prince was caught off guard as he couldn't stop on time and promptly stumbled into the lush green grass. Of course, Hakyeon would never do anything that would seriously hurt his protege. What he did instead was sitting on Sanghyuk's back to keep the boy on the ground.

“Get off of me!” Sanghyuk laughed as he struggled to throw Hakyeon off.

It was really endearing that Sanghyuk was so caring. The prince had eaten his veggies and was as tall as a tree and probably ten times stronger than Hakyeon with all that combat training he did. On any other day it would have been an easy thing for Sanghyuk to throw Hakyeon off. Hence most of the times he was throwing Hakyeon around like he weighed nothing. Today though Sanghyuk tried to care for Hakyeon. 

Whenever Sanghyuk had an off day or was upset or sad Hakyeon would smother him in hugs and pamper him until Sanghyuk forgot everything that had made him upset and instead tried to avoid Hakyeon's overbearing personality.

Sanghyuk was different in showing his feelings or caring for others. Most people would probably think him rude or unkind seeing how he acted towards Hakyeon when the Fairy was upset. Sanghyuk wouldn't try to talk about it or hug him and tell him that everything would be alright. No, Sanghyuk showed his support and care in more subtle ways.

He would tease Hakyeon and goad him into fights. Then he would proceed to let Hakyeon have the upper hand in all their fights and would do everything Hakyeon asked of him that day, even though with as much protest as possible. It was an odd way of showing his support but Hakyeon knew what he meant. With teasing Hakyeon he would take his mind off of whatever was bothering him and instead focus on teaching Sanghyuk a lesson. He would let Hakyeon have the upper hand in their little fights to give him the feeling of having control in times that he couldn't seem to get his emotions under control. He would also show that he respected Hakyeon a great lot by abiding by his rules even though it was usually accompanied by a lot of complaints. It was odd but Hakyeon understood and appreciated the youngers help.

Like right now as he had the young Prince under him, his face pressed into the grass and holding one of his hands behind his back.

“Alright, alright! I yield! Let go off me!”

“Only if you take back what you said about me being old.”

“But it's the truth and you always told me to tell the truth- Ow!” Sanghyuk screamed as Hakyeon lifted the prince's arm higher towards his shoulder blades. “Okay I'm sorry! Please let go of me!”

“That's better,” Hakyeon grumbled and let go of Sanghyuk's hand before rolling off him.

Breathless but still laughing Sanghyuk turned around and tried to catch his breath again as he laid on his back in the grass. Hakyeon took one look at Sanghyuk's amused face and couldn't help suppressing his own laughs anymore and soon followed the younger one to lay in the grass.

“You are a fucking menace.” Hakyeon huffed between his laughs and weakly punched Sanghyuk's chest. “Why do I even put up with you?”

“Because you love me and because you're stuck with me for at least another ten years.”

“Ten years?! You're already 21 and an adult that's going to be married soon.”

“I may be an adult by law but we both know that I'll always be a child at heart.”

Hakyeon sighed in defeat. “I guess you’re right. I'm probably stuck with you for all eternity.” His voice though was far from annoyed and a gentle smile rested on Hakyeon's lips.

He didn't really have anything against being stuck to Sanghyuk for all eternity. But Hakyeon knew that this could never be. Too often did he have to say goodbye to the little babies he had seen growing up into proper adults. Hakyeon knew this wouldn't last and soon he would have to let Sanghyuk live his life alone and Hakyeon would move on to another kid that needed his help more.

As if sensing his train of thought Hakyeon felt Sanghyuk's pinkie interlacing with his.

“Eternity or not, I'm glad that you've been there my whole life and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.”

Hakyeon looked at Sanghyuk, not being used by hearing the youngers sentiment. The latter though kept his eyes locked onto the clouds drifting over their heads. Instead of calling Sanghyuk out on his sentimental thoughts, Hakyeon just smiled to himself and gazed up into the sky as well, his pinkie holding Sanghyuk's just a tad bit tighter.

“Thank you.”

Hakyeon didn't have to specify why he was thanking him. It was better not to voice it. Otherwise Sanghyuk would just deny everything.

And just because he knew that Sanghyuk wasn't one for touchy feelings he added, “I set Wonshik's clothes on fire today...”

There was silence before Sanghyuk gave a surprised laugh. “That was you?”

Hakyeon just shrugged. “Apparently....”

“Oh my god I wish I'd had seen it. I only heard from Sunmi that she had to throw water him! So hilarious! Why though? You're normally the first one that screams at me whenever I try to prank him,” Sanghyuk stated as he tried to control his laughter.

Hakyeon wasn't amused and gave a huff. “Yes, because he's a precious cinnamon roll and needs to be protected.”

“Then why did you set him on fire?”

“It's not that I wanted to!” Hakyeon exclaimed in indignation, “I was just stressing over the seating arrangement in the banquet hall and thought about burning someone because they were so incompetent. My thoughts must have manifested themselves and Wonshik just happened to be the person standing closest to me. As a result, his clothes caught fire.”

Sanghyuk broke into full out laughing fit. “Oh dear god, Hakyeon! You are the best!”

“You are horrible, you know that?”

* * *

“Forget it.”

Sometimes Taekwoon wondered: _Why him?_ Why did he always have to get the most stubborn cases? What had he done to deserve this? It wasn't even that he didn't try. In fact this time around, he tried his absolute best because he actually liked the kid a lot.

Being a Fairy Godfather had been a great job for Taekwoon after his death. It was infinitely more fun than sitting around in eternity and listen to preaching’s of peace and harmony and blah blah blah while waiting for his special someone. He liked to work with kids and loved his magic powers. It also gave him the chance to do _something_. He helped kids with a bad fortune to live a better life. It was magnificent. What he did not like was the fact that kids liked to not listen to him.

Take his current protege Hongbin for example: Whenever possible he would complain about his _horrible, horrible life_. That's usually were Taekwoon would come along and make sure that the _horrible, horrible life_ would turn into a good one, or at least a less horrible one. His powers couldn't change the cards Destiny had dealt but he could make it bearable. And oh, but did Hongbin need that. Taekwoon wasn't quite sure what the kid had done to deserve such a life.

First his family is ripped apart by the death of his mother due to a freak accident with a carriage. Then his father marries that fucking witch Eunsoo who dragged her two spoiled excuses of kids along. Seriously, Taekwoon has had a lot of different kids throughout his time as a Fairy Godfather but never had he met such _atrocious_ people.

Sure, they were all nice and loving at first but once Hongbin's father died because of a mysterious “sickness” – let’s be real, it was poison – they turned Hongbin into some version of a slave. First they took away his room and made him sleep in the fucking basement, then burnt his cloths and replaced them with what could only be described as dirty rags and along the way they made sure to also burn all of his rights as a human being. Hongbin wasn’t allowed to speak unless directly spoken to, had to do all the cores around the house seeing as Eunsoo had dismissed all their personnel and he wasn’t allowed to eat before all his work was done and never in presence of Eunsoo and her devil spawns.

Taekwoon would love nothing more than to curse them to hell and back, especially when they’d physically punish his Charge for messing up or not abiding by the rules – most of the time it wasn’t even Hongbin’s fault. His step-siblings just loved bringing misery upon Hongbin's bony shoulders. Sadly, Godparents weren't allowed to intentionally bring harm upon anyone. Taekwoon understood why that rule was important but sometimes the system was so fucking unfair.

At least destiny had been kind enough to bestow Hongbin with a fairy godparent and so it fell upon Taekwoon to care for Hongbin’s well-being. He made sure that the basement was properly insulated, had a warm and comfortable bed and put a glamour on it so nobody would see anything beyond what had been given to Hongbin by his step-family. Taekwoon took care of most of Hongbin’s cores when nobody was watching and provided him with regular meals, safely hidden away from Eunsoo’s eagle eyes.

It was safe to say that Taekwoon was doing his best to guarantee his Charges happiness, even when said Charge was often too stubborn for his own good.

“Stop making my job harder.”

“Making your job harder?” Hongbin sneered as he wrung out the third blanket of the day. “You’re not even doing your damn job.”

Taekwoon wanted to rub the bridge of his nose in exasparation. “You know that it’s too suspicious for me to help you with the washing.”

“Fucking witch…” Hongbin grumbled, obviously meaning Eunsoo.

Eunsoo had made a habit of checking on Hongbin’s progress every now and again and was very good at sneaking around unnoticed. This habit had gotten even worse after she almost caught Taekwoon use his magic the month before.

You see, the life of a Fairy Godparent wasn’t without dangers. There were a lot of people out there that would murder to capture one and use their powers for their gain, literally. Of course, none of them knew that Godparents are bound to their Charge and nobody else could take this bond, only death and even he could only sever it. This ignorance led many a Protege and their Godparent into their death, because if those people couldn’t take this power no one should have it. Obviously not all humans were like this but Taekwoon was a hundred percent sure that Eunsoo was one of those power-hungry people. Taekwoon had seen it in the way she had all but salivated over the invitation to the royal ball – which Taekwoon was currently trying to talk Hongbin into going – and the chance to gain influence through advantageous marriages with her children.

So now that she was onto their track Taekwoon only used his magic for minor things and only when he was completely sure that she wouldn’t catch him. He even went as far as transforming himself into a cat so he could safely stay by Hongbin’s side as was currently the case.

“Just consider all the possibilities.“

“ _Possibilities?_ What possibilities?!”

Taekwoon flinched at the sharp tone Hongbin’s voice had taken on. His ears were quite sensitive on a normal day but when transformed it was about ten times worse.

“Ever thought about getting out of this shithole of a place?”

“And end up as the husband of a spoiled royal brat?” Hongbin spit back as he tore a pillowcase from the washing line. “No thanks I’d rather jump off the next cliff.”

Taekwoon suppressed the urge to just bite Hongbin in the ass for being a prideful idiot. “Oh yeah I can already see how the prince will fall for your charming personality.”

“What the fuck?!” Hongbin shouted as he whirled around to face Taekwoon. “First you tell me to go to the Brat’s birthday party and then you tell me I wouldn’t have a chance anyway. Why the ever-loving fuck should I go then?!”

 _Deep breaths, Taekwoon, he’s had a bad week_.

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Then what _did_ you mean?”

“I didn’t say you should go for the main prize, Idiot,” he’d lowered his voice to a bare minimum so Hongbin wouldn’t see it as another attack and finally let his shields down again, “There will be all kinds of people at that ball, you heard the message: _A feast for everyone, be it nobility or common folk_ , or something along those lines. Heck you don’t have to latch onto any of the nobles, just see if there’s a possible someone for you. Marriage _is_ the only way for you to get out of here, you know, that right?”

Taekwoon watched as the fire left Hongbin’s eyes, making room for cold resignation and shaky hands. It pained Taekwoon to no end that destiny wanted to test Hongbin for some reason and that this was the only loophole Taekwoon could find besides death. If Eunsoo would allow Hongbin to leave the property for longer than just a quick trip to the market, he’d be able to find someone on his own terms but Eunsoo wasn’t stupid. She knew the dangers of leaving Hongbin out of her sight and thus the ball was their only chance.

“At the very least go there to find some friends because god knows, you need more people to look out for you than just me.”

“I hate this so much…” Hongbin said weakly a wet quality entering his voice. Taekwoon did a quick scoop of the surrounding as well as casting a charm to make sure no one was watching before returning to his human form so he could give Hongbin the hug he so dearly needed.

“I’m sorry Hongbin but _please_ just give it a try…”

Taekwoon felt the small nod of agreement against his shoulder and gave an internal sigh of relieve. That was one battle down.

“We’ll get you out of here,” Taekwoon whispered and tightened the hug. “I promise.”


	2. Chapter 2

The night of the royal ball was finally upon them and Hakyeon watched from up above on one of the balconies as all kinds of people streamed into the room. Hakyeon couldn’t take his eyes of the masses of shiny sparkling dresses and primly put together suits – there was that one Chandelier in the corner of his eyes though that irritated him to no ends.

There were quite a few royals from outside Seoul present, which of course wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was the amount of common folk’s present. Not that he was complaining, the opposite even. Hakyeon knew the kinds of nobles here today and really wasn’t looking forward to Sanghyuk having to deal with them.

One half of them thought Sanghyuk was too young to be king and would probably prefer Gyeong-Su to take over. The other just wanted a shot at gaining new borders and all those precious resources Seoul was blessed with. None of them actually cared about Sanghyuk and Hakyeon hated them. Not that the common folks were better. Hakyeon knew that there were those who’d jump at anything to be called a royal but at least they’d never actually gain too much influence at court if Sanghyuk didn’t want to. It would be harder with actual nobility to keep them out of royal business so Hakyeon prayed that Sanghyuk would go for one of the commoners. It wasn’t a nice train of thought and Hakyeon wasn’t proud of it but he’d rather have a commoner with no knowledge about court life than someone who knows all the ins and outs of it. Sue him for being cautious.  
  


“Stop frowning or it’ll stay,” Sanghyuk commented as he stepped up next to Hakyeon. “Probably too late for that anyway.”

“Ya!” Hakyeon retaliated by shoving Sanghyuk by the shoulder. Not that it did anything because Sanghyuk was a strong little shit. “Youth these days…”

“So, do you want to tell me who earned your ire this time?”

“The chandelier is too far up…”

“Oh no, what horror,” Sanghyuk answered the same way one would say the sky is blue.

“It is! I told them to set it down a bit…”

“My prayers are with the one responsible, I’m sure we’ll all miss them.”

Hakyeon just rolled his eyes but let the comment slide. Let Sanghyuk have fun, even if it was on Hakyeon. Down below them the Master of Ceremonies had announced what appeared to be the last guest.

“Seen anyone interesting already? It’s almost time for the first dance,” Hakyeon stated in order to change the topic.

“Can’t say I do. Have you seen how many people there are?”

“Admit it, you didn’t even look properly.”

“Of course, I did,” Sanghyuk choked out, sounding like a bad mimicry of Hakyeon when he was scandalized but his heart wasn’t in it. “You know I’m taking this very seriously.”

 _Stupid little thing, who are you trying to fool,_ Hakyeon thought with a heavy heart. To everyone else Sanghyuk probably looked like confidence incarnated but Hakyeon knew. Deep inside Sanghyuk was just a scarred little boy with a father so sick he couldn’t even attend the festivities and the burden of basically marrying a stranger. The boy was barely 21, he shouldn’t have to deal with such problems.

But that’s what Hakyeon was for, wasn’t he? Having decided to take some of that nerves from his Charge, he gave a mock bow and reached out his hand.

“Would your majesty maybe be interested in a dance with little humble me?”

The surprise was written big on Sanghyuk’s face but there was a hint of a smile forming at the corners of his lips.

“Come on, I know you love stepping on my toes on purpose.”

And Hakyeon knew it was on purpose because Sanghyuk was actually a good dancer, just not when they were dancing together. It was a sacrifice Hakyeon was willing to make though for the sake of Sanghyuk’s happiness.

“Well I can’t exactly say no to such an enticing offer, can I?”

Back was the mischievous little shit Hakyeon had helped raise.

One dance and a broken toe later Hakyeon was back, perching on the balcony, making sure everything was going well. Surprisingly it wasn’t Sanghyuk who broke Hakyeon’s toe but a very enthusiastic lady not watching what she was dancing on. Heels were great and all but damn did they _hurt_. It had taken all of Hakyeon’s control to not scream out in pain. The Lady didn’t even apologize or notice as a matter of fact. Hakyeon had warned Sanghyuk already to scratch her off the potential spouse list.

At least Sanghyuk wasn’t nervous anymore and currently busy chatting and dancing through the throngs of people. The latest person of interest was a very dashing lady in red, her wavy black hair swaying with the momentum of their dance and the light, flowy dress made it look like she was some ethereal being floating over the floor. Hakyeon didn’t know her name but the face was familiar. She wasn’t royalty by birth but also not a commoner. Her father – or was it the mother? – married the Duchess of Goyang who was a very fine woman. Out of all the royals Sanghyuk could have danced with, that girl was probably the best option. It helped that she exuded a very gentle aura. Hakyeon only feared that she may be a bit to gentle and timid for someone as brash and courageous as Sanghyuk. On the other hand, she could do well in reining him in and keep him out of the more dangerous things.

Hakyeon’s musings were interrupted as something, or rather _someone_ caught his eyes. Fair, soft looking skin, a wide set of oval shaped black eyes, high round cheekbones and a cloud of cotton candy like toffee brown hair and- were those dimples? What the hell? Hakyeon was completely flabbergasted at the way the boy carried himself down the stairs as if he was the star of the show, which he definitely was, but at the same time there was a certain hesitance, almost as if he didn’t want to be in the centre of attention.

Hakyeon had watched over the evening’s proceedings like a hawk and most of the times he was drawn to the colourful dresses worn by the ladies attending. Most of the gentlemen had some derivative of a black suite which was fine because men in suits were always ten times more handsome, but it wasn’t as eye-catching.

Probably one more reason why this newcomer had drawn in all the attention, because he wasn’t just wearing a plain black suit. No, his lithe frame was encased in a pristine white, single breasted suit with a navy blue, laced hem line and a broad belt in that exact same shade hugging his slim waist. Hakyeon wasn’t even sure if that description did the suit justice because it was so much more.

Most of the guests had stopped dancing by the point the mysterious stranger reached the bottom of the grand staircase. And he was mysterious because Hakyeon couldn’t remember ever seeing him. To be fair he hadn’t seen over half of those attending today but there was no way this boy could be a mere commoner. The suit was clearly expensive if the amount of blue details was anything to go by. Creating blue dye was not cheap and usually the colour of royalty, like Hyuk who cut a dashing form in his cobalt blue suit, but nobody would question it. By the looks of it this wasn’t the case for this stranger as no one seemed to recognize him which made it even more confusing. You’d think at least one person in here would know such a handsome face, right?

As the stranger advanced the other people slowly moved out of their stupor and resumed their previous conversations but they never really took their eyes off the mysterious beauty who seemed more than uncomfortable with all the looks he was getting. Another surprising thing. Surely the boy knew he was handsome and together with the shining white-blue suit he just had to count on such a reaction. Or maybe he wasn’t royalty after all and thus not used to this kind of events. It would explain his hesitancy and the skittish glances he was throwing around as well as the fact that no one seemed to know him and the tardiness. The ball had been going for over an hour already. No person of higher class would insult the host by showing up an hour too late, that was just ill manners.

Oddly enough Hakyeon wasn’t bothered by this at all though. And it seemed Sanghyuk wasn’t either. With a curt nod towards the lady in red, Hakyeon watched as Sanghyuk made his way towards the mysterious stranger to welcome him personally. Hakyeon wasn’t even surprised. He’d be disappointed had Sanghyuk just ignored this dashing Prince – royalty or not he looked like a Prince so Hakyeon would dub him that way.

It was quite amusing to watch the stranger’s eyes widening in shock at Sanghyuk’s approach. It was too loud in the room to understand what they were talking about but Hakyeon was fairly sure by the gestures that Sanghyuk was just inviting Prince Charming to share a dance. At least Prince Carming knew to bow before shyly taking Sanghyuk’s proffered hand and not to decline it.

Poor thing still looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but he let himself be dragged into the middle of the ballroom. Sanghyuk wasn’t quite as hesitant but he was careful, almost like he didn’t want to make a mistake. Which was quite uncommon for his Charge. Sanghyuk was confident enough in his actions that mistakes were a rare occurrence in his life. But this carefulness just made their dance so much more enticing.

Prince Charming may not be an actual prince, but he did know how to dance which definitely spoke of some higher education. Damn, this guessing game was getting kind of frustrating. Maybe he’d confront Sanghyuk later that evening when he was taking a break from dancing. For now, Hakyeon had to be content with simply watching the couple dance the night away. The music spun around them as they swept over the floor. Perhaps Hakyeon had used a teeny tiny charm to deter other potential interests from interrupting because Sanghyuk was _smiling_. Not the royal smile he usually put on for these kind of festivities in order to mask his unwillingness to be here. Right now, as the pair spun around in circles with the stranger’s hair bouncing at every step they took, Sanghyuk was giving him a real smile. One of those that were usually reserved for his father and Hakyeon – and of course for his mother in the past. Even Prince Charming seemed to loosen up with every twirl and Hakyeon watched as something Sanghyuk said made his partner chuckle. It was _adorable_ and Hakyeon would not let _anyone_ disturb this.  
  


As the night went on Sanghyuk didn’t leave the strangers side even once. When they weren’t currently dancing, they stood by the side-lines talking about god knows what. It had become clear to the other occupants that they only had eyes for each other which was dangerous. While Hakyeon wholly agreed with Sanghyuk’s choice there were quite a few envious stares thrown their way so that Hakyeon’s attention slipped away from the pair and onto those around them. Humans were very emotional beings and those emotions often lead to horrible tragedies. Nothing serious would happen this evening, Hakyeon was sure, but you never now. A spilled drink here or maybe a stray foot there, small things that nobody would notice but Hakyeon would not let them ruin Prince Charming’s newly found ease. He seemed to be comfortable with Sanghyuk around and that just made him a hundred times more radiant, especially with that dimpled smile that reached all the way up to his eyes.

He decided then an there, that those two were precious and needed to be protected at all cost and Hakyeon would verbally tear down anyone dumb enough to destroy this harmony.

As the night advanced Hakyeon watched as the pair retreated out into the palace gardens and he had to physically anchor himself on the balcony railings to not just follow them. He was one nosy godparent which Sanghyuk had complained about _a lot_ over the years so this time he made a conscious effort to not give into his curiosity. Even though it was tearing him apart, they needed to get to know each other in private, away from all the watchful gazes. So in order to distract himself, Hakyeon pulled Wonshik away from the banquet table and onto the dance floor ignoring the knights protests.

Hakyeon usually didn’t like dancing with strangers and Wonshik was the only other dancer besides Sanghyuk that could keep up with Hakyeon, so he had to do. Wonshik’s family had a long history of serving under Seoul’s royalty and Wonshik practically grew up with Sanghyuk. Hakyeon had been very quick to adopt Wonshik as his unofficial charge. That also meant that he had to suffer through Hakyeon’s whim for distraction. But once the initial complaints clashed against deaf ears he gave up and Hakyeon could, if not enjoy, at least appreciate the dance.

Dancing had been Hakyeon’s biggest passion before his timely demise and his job as Fairy Godparent. While he did still dance every now and then, it wasn’t the same. Even now with Wonshik: It was a nice distraction to get his thoughts off of Sanghyuk but Hakyeon’s heart wasn’t in it and it probably never would be if it wasn’t with that one specific person he was waiting for.  
  


Hakyeon was yanked out of his musings as the back door banged open. In a blurry of motion Hakyeon watched first Prince Charming sprinted in hastily making his way through the crowd, up the stairs and disappeared out of the main doors. Before Hakyeon could even begin to process what just happened Sanghyuk came back in running right after Prince Charming and in a matter of seconds he was gone.

“What just-“

“Come on!” Hakyeon quickly interrupted Wonshik’s exclamation as his brain caught up to speed again. Not bothering to look whether the knight had followed his instruction Hakyeon hurriedly followed where Sanghyuk and Prince Charming had just left.

Something was wrong, he’d seen it in the short glimpse of Sanghyuk’s eyes before the Prince disappeared. His Charge was confused and almost looked a bit hurt if Hakyeon had seen correctly. Was the stranger dangerous? It was too good to be true. All kinds of thoughts raced through his mind as he rushed through the castles winding corridors, following the servants pointed fingers.

Hakyeon shouldn’t have let himself be blinded by the stranger’s handsomeness. Maybe that’s also why nobody knew him, because he wasn’t from Seoul or even the neighboring countries. What if he was a spy for the Pyongyang empire? Oh god, Hakyeon _knew_ he should have gone after the couple. Technically he also knew that Sanghyuk was a skilled fighter and could hold himself against the stranger but what if there were more? What if Sanghyuk was being led into a trap? If something happened to Sanghyuk he wouldn't forgive himself. Dear gods, this was a disaster. At least he could hear Wonshik’s steps not far behind him and it calmed him greatly to hear him shout for more guards. It gave him hope that everything would be just fine.

Once outside Hakyeon caught sight of Sanghyuk again and thanked every god out there that he wasn’t hurt. He was still running after the stranger but there was no one else in sight so there probably wouldn’t be an ambush. Hakyeon wished he could use his magic to trap the stranger but there were too many witnesses. Sure, Wonshik knew about his powers but the rest of the guard didn’t. Also, he couldn’t exactly do anything big without Sanghyuk wishing it. What he could do though was use a little magic to create a small puddle of tar in the strangers path. It was dark outside anyway so nobody would notice and maybe it could slow him down.

The stranger _did_ notice the puddle but not soon enough. Hakyeon did a little cheer as the stranger stumbled to a halt as one of his feet got stuck on the tar. Now he just needed to stay there for-

_Damn it!_

The stranger slipped out of his shoe in no time flat and disappeared right into the waiting golden carriage and off he was. Behind him Hakyeon heard Wonshik shout to get the horses but he knew that it was too late. Sanghyuk had given up as well because no matter how fast he was, he couldn’t outrun a carriage.

“Sanghyuk!”

The prince turned around with a face of panic and – Hakyeon had to correct his previous assessment of him being hurt – confusion.

“Are you hurt?!” Hakyeon asked quickly as he did a once over to check for any damage, poking and prodding until Sanghyuk pushed his hands away.

“I’m fine but he just-”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Sanghyuk exclaimed with more vehemence tousling up his hair in frustration. “Everything was fine! We were talking and laughing and then all of a sudden he’s talking about having to leave and before I could ask, he was gone _again_!”

“Something must have happened-“

“Then I don’t understand _what_ I did wrong! I thought we were getting along just fine, and I was so happy to see him again that I thought-“

“Wait, wait, wait,” Hakyeon quickly interrupted, his brain coming to a stuttering halt. “What do you mean with ‘happy to see him again’? You _know_ him?!”

Here Sanghyuk hesitated, his gaze switching from Hakyeon to where the carriage had been a minute ago.

“Who is he then?”

“That’s the problem, I don’t know!”

“Sanghyuk, you just said you were happy to see him again. That means you’ve seen him before, right?”

“Yes- I mean kind of- _ugh_ ” the frustration was clear in Sanghyuk’s voice and Hakyeon was a little worried about his hair if Sanghyuk kept tugging at it like that.

“Alright, you met him before, but I take it that you don’t know his name, right?”

“Yeah… I met him in the forest a few months ago, you know when I had that huge fight with father and rode off to let off some steam? He was there as well, by the little river running through the forest and he was crying. I tried talking to him but didn’t really get the reason for his sadness out of him, but we clicked.” That honest smile of Sanghyuk’s shone through the confusion again. “Like I can’t explain it but there was such an ease between us, and I got him to stop crying. And imagine that, he didn’t even know who I was and still wanted to talk to me. I was about to ask his name but then there was this black cat and he left in a hurry, just like now!”

Hakyeon heaved a deep sigh while processing this huge information dump.

“So that’s why you were so adamant about inviting not only nobles but also commoners, right?”

“He talked like he was a commoner but without a name I couldn’t find him so when you proposed the idea of the ball, I thought this would be the easiest way of meeting him again. Now I’m not sure anymore, I mean you saw how he was dressed and then that carriage, that’s not something a commoner would own. But then again, I sat through countless hours of court lessons about the different royal families and stuff, but I’ve never seen his face before.”

“I have to give you that: You know how to pick them,” Hakyeon said with another sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Something wasn’t adding up here and it was driving Hakyeon crazy. “Okay, tell me exactly what happened right before he ran away.”

Sanghyuk nodded and took a moment to collect his thoughts again. Off in the distance Hakyeon heard the guard following on the Strangers trail and prayed that maybe it wasn’t too late. They had to know whether this man was a danger or not.

“So, we went to mothers rose garden and just you know, talked ad we kind of got a bit closer…”

“Yeah, keep going,” Hakyeon prompted and watched as a lovely red blush crept over Sanghyuk’s cheeks and wasn’t that adorable. Hakyeon hadn’t seen Sanghyuk blush since he was a little kid.

“We were about to uh… kiss,” Sanghyuk admitted scratching the back of his neck.

“And I guess he left before it could come to this kiss, yes?”

His charge just nodded, looking everywhere but at Hakyeon. It was truly adorable and Hakyeon would love to tease Sanghyuk for it, but they had a mystery to solve.

“Maybe he-“ A sudden thought struck Hakyeon. “Last time you said there was a cat, right? That cat, was it there when you found him first?”

“Uhm no I don’t-“ Sanghyuk shook his head. “No, it wasn’t there. It kind of seemed like it was coming out of nowhere but it knew him somehow because it kept tugging at his pantleg.”

“Sanghyuk, I need you to really think about this, okay? Was there _anything_ else that could be connected to his sudden departure? Like with the cat, could there have been anything at all that triggered his reaction?”

Sanghyuk gave the question a serious thought and was about to shake his head when something seemed to come through in his memory. “The clock! There was a strike of the bell to signal that it was five minutes before midnight and he suddenly jumped back! Like- like he was remembering something and then he left.”

And suddenly everything clicked into place. Sanghyuk thinking the Stranger was a commoner but appearing like a prince at the ball. Then that strange glowing around him that apparently only Hakyeon could see, that was a spell. A time sensitive spell apparently so a transformation-

“The shoe!” Hakyeon exclaimed and ran back towards the puddle of tar. Surprisingly enough the shoe was still there but it could be attributed to the fact that Hakyeon used magic to create the puddle. Maybe that stopped the transformation back. This was good though because now Hakyeon was sure of his theory and all the anxiety just fell off him as a hollering laugh left his throat to the great confusion of Sanghyuk.

“What is it?”

Hakyeon chuckled again and smiled up at Sanghyuk. “You do know how to pick them, don’t you?”

“Why?”

“Your mystery man had a bit magical help from someone.”

“What-“

“Remember what I told you about transformations?”

“You said…” Sanghyuk’s eyebrows drew together in thought before realization suddenly dawned in his eyes. “They only last for a certain amount of time! Oh my- That’s why he left when the bell was struck!”

Hakyeon nodded. “He also had a glamour around him so certain people wouldn’t recognize him.”

“Why would he need that?”

“That’s something I’d like to know as well...”

It wasn’t a hard glamour because otherwise Hakyeon wouldn’t be able to recall the strangers face. A hard glamour not only hid your identity it messes with your mind. Once that person is out of sight you won’t be able to remember certain details, mostly the face. This means that the stranger probably wasn’t a wanted criminal or a spy _but_ he was hiding from someone, someone that was attending the ball as well. Obviously not Sanghyuk because he had met Hongbin before and still recognized his face at the ball.

“So, I was probably right in assuming he’s a commoner?”

“Yes, it explains a couple of things and now I _really_ /want to find him. It’s been ages since I’ve talked to another of my kind! Now there’s just the question of how. Apparently, he doesn’t want to be found for some reason,” Hakyeon mumbled to himself and let his gaze wander as he tried to find a solution. As if summoned, Hakyeon’s gaze stopped at the shoe and an idea struck him.

“We’ll find him with his shoe!”

In Sanghyuk’s continued silence, Hakyeon went on, “We’ll go from door to door and let them try on the shoe, it’s brilliant!”

“Are you sure? I mean loads of people have the same shoe size, we can’t just pin it on that or the first one who fits it will claim to be the mystery prince…”

“And that’s where you’re wrong my dear Hyoggie!” Hakyeon answered sweetly and pulled the shoe from the tar before removing any excess with a bit of magic. “You see, the thing about transformation spells is that it’s exactly tailored to the person wearing it. In other words, this shoe won’t fit anyone besides it’s true owner.”

“That sounds oddly convenient.”

“A lot of things concerning magic are, you'd be surprised” Hakyeon said with a wink. “Come on, let’s go back inside and play nice hosts and tomorrow we’ll try to find your mystery prince. Sounds like a plan?”

“And you’re sure we’ll find him?”

The insecurity in Sanghyuk’s voice surprised him a bit. This mystery man really did a number on him. But instead of voicing his thoughts Hakyeon simply gave a pat to Sanghyuk’s shoulder and steered him back towards the castle.

“Don’t worry your pretty head about it, I’ll do everything in my power to find him.”

* * *

“You’re kidding, right?”

Taekwoon had the strong urge to drown Hongbin.

“I was scared, alright?!”

His Charge was currently busy pacing up and down the kitchen in front of Taekwoon, who was at his wits end, to be honest. Leave it to Hongbin to not only catch the eye of the fucking prince but also spending the rest of the evening with him without telling him his damn name even once! Not for the first time Taekwoon wondered if Hongbin even wanted to get out of here.

“Scared of what? I thought he’s that same guy from the forest you wouldn’t shut up about...”

“But that was _before_ I learnt that he’s the god damn prince!”

“I’m lost.”

“He’s a prince, Taekwoon, and I’m a mere slave in my own fucking home!” Hongbin exclaimed in frustration as his up and down pacing turned into circling around the kitchen island.

Taekwoon still didn’t understand it. From what he heard this ball was especially for the prince to find a spouse. Seeing as nobles as well as commoners were invited Taekwoon had the strong suspicion that ranking high on the social hierarchy wasn’t a problem. Especially because as far as Taekwoon knew Seoul never really cared about heritage. It was one of the many reasons why people loved this kingdom. There had been many a King or Queen that came from within the working classes and they had all been great rulers.

He told Hongbin as much who came to a halt, looked at Taekwoon and clawed his hands into his hair with a loud groan.

“I messed up okay?! Everything was just so goddamn perfect, and I didn’t want him to be disappointed with who I really am. I just-” Hongbin huffed and let himself plummet into the next best chair, drained of all anger- “I just wanted to feel like a human being for one night and not think about my god awful life…”

Alright, that made sense. It was a huge problem Taekwoon tried to work on, that Hongbin wouldn’t feel lesser because of Eunsoo’s treatment of him. Not an easy task and apparently, he wasn’t doing the best job. But it was only more of a testament to how fortunate a relationship with the prince would be. Forget that he’s rich and could probably get Hongbin out of this horror house, the important part was that he made Hongbin feel safe and taken care of. There was nothing Taekwoon could wish for more than see his Charge being happy.

“Did you give him _anything_ to work with at all?”

Hongbin shook his head, no. Could they be so brash as to just waltz up to the palace and demand to talk to the prince directly?

“I could just transform you back into the stuff from last night and he’d know that it was you.“

“Are you crazy? I can’t just turn up there,” Hongbin answered as if Taekwoon had just proposed to sacrifice a new-born. 

“HONGBIN!!”

The pair flinched at the shrill, piercing voice of one Jihae a.k.a. the devil’s right hand. Up above them the door fell into the lock with a loud _bang_.

 _Someone’s in a good mood_ , Taekwoon thought with a grimace as he quickly turned into his cat form and hid behind the washbasin. Not a second later Jisun a.k.a. the devils left hand, stormed through the kitchens entrance, her unnecessarily bloated dress swinging around her fury.

“Go and make us some tea!”

“And make it fast!” Jihae demanded, as if Hongbin could make the water boil any faster just because he was an impatient brat.

The trio was completed with the devil herself coming to rest just inside the kitchen. Taekwoon could swear that Eunsoo was only on this earth because her glare made hell freeze up and now she and her demon spawns had to find another world to subdue. He knew she wouldn’t be able to see him, not with the hastily thrown on glamour, but Taekwoon’s hairs still stood on end, like she was omnipresent. Horrible woman that one.

“Sounds like you had a fun filled evening?” Hongbin ground out as he put the kettle to boil, remembering the last minute to add a , “my ladies.”

To be fair, Hongbin wasn’t making his situation any better with all the snarky side comments.

“It was absolutely stunning,” Jisun exclaimed with stars in his eyes and started to boast about all the fancy things Hongbin would never be privileged to know. “And you should have seen all those glances Prince Sanghyuk threw at me.”

A laugh escaped Hongbin’s throat, which was luckily overpowered by Jihae's penetrating giggle.

“That wasn’t Prince Sanghyuk throwing glances at you, probably some lowly commoner.”

It always fascinated Taekwoon that despite them being siblings, they always managed to put the other one in their shadow. Shouldn’t they get along? Hongbin’s theory was that they were dropped to often as babies and thus lost their ability to feel empathy, among other things they were lacking.

“Was not!”

“Was too! The Prince was way to busy staring at me!”

“You wish!” Jisun screeched and Taekwoon flinched again as her voice reached the same pitch as the kettle whistling.

Eunsoo wasn’t entirely unaffected by the fight as well, judging by the way she was rubbing her temples. “Shut up, both of you. The Prince didn’t notice anyone beside this mystery man.”

From his hiding spot Taekwoon couldn’t help grinning and and as he looked up he found that his charge wasn’t any better off. Conveniently Hongbin had turned his back towards them as he busied himself with the tea tray. He didn’t quite manage to hide the laugh in his voice though.

“Mystery man, sounds interesting.”

“There is nothing interesting about him,” Eunsoo bit back with a sneer. “It was obvious that this bastard wasn’t of noble blood. A pathetic imposter, that’s what he was.”

And there she went again, managing to steal Hongbin’s smile with a single sentence. If Taekwoon didn’t know better he’d say it was her superpower to sense Hongbin’s joy and destroy it in a single breath. Taekwoon’s plan of simply storming into the castle grew more and more on him. He’d give Hongbin a night to sleep over the idea. Maybe tomorrow after doing all of Eunsoo’s biding he’d be more willing to agree to Taekwoon’s plan.


	3. Chapter 3

The following morning started the same way as always with Taekwoon preparing breakfast – and keeping himself from spitting into the tea – so Hongbin could get some more rest. Heaven knows the boy needs every ounce of sleep he can get. Of course, there was also breakfast for Hongbin – with the food being of way higher quality – so he could eat between all his chores.

What was odd though was that Hongbin didn’t complain once throughout the day. Usually Taekwoon would be by his side to listen to all the bitching and occasionally joining in as well. Not today. In fact, Taekwoon thought Hongbin was avoiding him. Well not directly avoiding him but avoiding talking about the ball. Feeling generous, Taekwoon let Hongbin off the hook for the day to sort out his thoughts but come evening, he’d coroner Hongbin and force a decision.

That was Taekwoon’s plan. He finally had an opening to get Hongbin out and, damn everything that was holy, he’d use this chance. Turns out the prince was one step ahead of Taekwoon.  
  


As was usual for a Monday afternoon, Eunsoo had one of her witch friends over for teatime. Right after serving said tea, Eunsoo sent Hongbin away for the afternoon to go shopping for the coming week. Monday afternoon was Hongbin’s favorite time of the week because he could stay out for as long as he wanted. Eunsoo didn’t want Hongbin around guests, especially not her friends which she always felt the need to impress. So Hongbin would use the time to ride through the forest and relax after the shopping was done. Not even Taekwoon dared to disturb those precious hours of free time. Instead he’d keep an eye on Eunsoo and made sure that Hongbin wasn’t in danger of angering her by staying away for too long.

There was a lot of boring conversation Taekwoon had to endure for the sake of Hongbin’s sanity but today it finally paid off because _lo and behold! Prince Han Sanghyuk was making the rounds through town, letting every man in the kingdom try on a shoe made of glass, can you believe that, Eunsoo?_

Obviously Eunsoo wasn’t as excited as her friend. Sure, the prince was looking for a man so technically Jihae still had a chance, but she also knew that he wasn’t the mystery prince. Then on the other hand, lots of people had the same shoe size so it wasn’t exactly unreasonable. What pleased her more though, was having Hongbin out of the house. Not that she had any clue that Hongbin was the mystery man but simply because it was another opportunity to put him into his place right beneath her. Sounds silly but Eunsoo can use literally _everything_ to destroy her sworn enemies.

Taekwoon wouldn’t let it happen though. In an instant he was out of the door and on his way to find Hongbin and get him back. As an afterthought he also grabbed a rope in case Hongbin was having another pity party. Taekwoon was desperate and not above using force.

What he didn’t know was that destiny had a little surprise in store for him as well.

* * *

“This is the last house, my prince,” Wonshik said regretfully from where he was riding next to Sanghyuk.

“Anything else you want to share with us, captain obvious,” Hakyeon bit back and felt bad for it right after looking at Wonshik’s kicked puppy face.

“I’m just stating facts.”

It really wasn’t Wonshik’s or anyone’s fault to be honest, but Hakyeon was getting frustrated. They’d been on the move since the first ray of sunlight touched the kingdom of Seoul. One house after the other they searched for Sanghyuk’s mystery prince but no matter what, they just couldn’t find him. There wasn’t even a trace from the Godparent that Hakyeon could follow. It’s as if they had just disappeared. It was driving him sheer crazy, knowing that there was a potential partner for Sanghyuk who also had a Fairy Godparent. This couldn’t be coincidence. Hakyeon was so sure that destiny was trying to tell him something. Certainly, it had to be a sign or _something_ , right? _Right?_

“Maybe he really is from outside the kingdom,” Sanghyuk stated with a grimace that didn’t convey any confidence. He was losing hope as well, Hakyeon could just see his Charge battling with the resolve to move on and simply choose someone else for the sake of his country.

“Come on,” Hakyeon said to try and lift the spirit and cover up his little slip of tongue with Wonshik. “There may be _only_ one house left but if you look at it another way, there is _still_ one house left. Don’t give up hope, yeah?”

Sanghyuk didn’t answer and just gave a nod.

As they drew closer to the house though – well more like a little mansion to be honest – Hakyeon had the first subtle inkling that something was going on here. He wouldn’t be able to describe it if asked because it was so subtle but there was definitely a hint of magic in the air. Not enough to announce the presence of another Godparent but enough for Hakyeon to pick it up.

With a huge grin that would have put the sun to shame Hakyeon nudged Sanghyuk, pulling him out of his no doubt morose thoughts. “This is it; I can feel it!”

Sanghyuk’s head shot around so fast that Hakyeon feared whiplash. “Truly?”

“It’s not strong but there’s a difference to all the other houses we visited. Our mystery prince must be here.”

“Well then what are we waiting for?” Wonshik exclaimed and motioned his horse to speed up, quickly followed by a laughing Sanghyuk and the rest of the royal escort. Hakyeon prayed that he was right, just this time.

Wonshik was the first to dismount his horse and quickly strode towards the entrance. Obviously Hakyeon wasn’t the only one wanting this day to finally have a happy ending. The door was opened by a graceful woman in her late forties, body clad in a deep red dress and hair pulled into a tight bun interlaced with intricate braids. She was stunning for her age but something about her seemed off, almost as if his instincts were warning him of danger. _Odd…_

“Your Majesty,” she drawled in a smooth accent free voice while going in for a deep bow. “It is an honour to welcome you to our humble home.”

“The honour is on our side,” Wonshik answered as Sanghyuk and Hakyeon came up to stand beside him. “If we could have a moment of your time, Milady?”

“Kim Eunsoo, how can I be of help?”

The more she spoke the more Hakyeon felt his heckles rise. At the same time, he felt more and more of that special energy radiating from within the house. No doubt, this had to be it.

“Who else lives in this house?”

“My daughter Jisun and my son Jihae.”

Wonshik exchanged a quick nod with Sanghyuk.

“You may have heard this already, but we are looking to return this shoe,” here he pointed towards Hakyeon holding said shoe in front of him, “to its owner. If it is not too much to ask, we would like to talk to your son.”

“Of course. Please, this way, Gentlemen,” lady Kim motioned for them to enter and lead them to the houses sitting room where both of her children were waiting already.

Hakyeon could basically feel Sanghyuk deflating once the son turned to face them. There was no way this one was their mystery prince. First off, the hair was completely off. Their mystery man had toffee brown hair; this one wore a shade of dirty blond. Then the face. The proportions weren’t as symmetrically pleasing as the mystery man’s – also; no dimples. It’s clear that this wasn’t the person they were looking for but curtsy wise they had to at least let him try on the shoe. Not surprisingly the it did not fit no matter how strong Jihae was pushing.

Hakyeon didn’t understand it. Was he really this desperate, to the point where he was imagining things? No, Hakyeon was sure that this energy was magic induced. Maybe their mystery man had only stopped by?

“And there is nobody else living here, Madame?” Sanghyuk asked as a last resort once Wonshik officially declared Jihae unfitting for the shoe. “Service personal, perhaps?”

“I’m afraid, your Majesty, I only employ female workers.”

“I see.” A sigh of defeat escaped Sanghyuk’s throat and his shoulders sunk with disappointment for a short moment before righting himself and putting on a brave façade. “Thank you for your time and hospitality. We will take our leave.”

With a final bow of respect Sanghyuk turned and strode out of the house.

“Have a lovely afternoon, Milady,” Wonshik added before they followed Sanghyuk, Lady Kim close on their heels.

Hakyeon chanced a glance at Sanghyuk, hating the words coming out of his mouth. “What shall we do next?”

“I,” another sigh, “don’t know. Let’s return to the palace for now…”

It physically pained Hakyeon to see Sanghyuk so defeated. Hakyeon just knew that this was it. Sanghyuk knew of the state of his father’s health and Gyeong-Su just drooling over the chance of clawing his nails into Seoul’s rulership. He wouldn’t waste more time chasing after the stranger and probably settle for marrying the Duchess of Goyang’s daughter, who really was a nice person but not someone Sanghyuk could love. They had talked about this after returning to the fest. Sanghyuk liked her enough to be a friend but never a lover. He’d marry her though for the sake of Seoul and Hakyeon hated it-

“Please wait!”

They were just about to get on their horses when suddenly a black horse appeared at the edge of the adjacent forest and Hakyeon felt everyone’s hopes rising. There, on the back of the horse sat a man with toffee brown hair and a pair of fierce eyes singled in on them. More and more of the man came into focus as he drew closer, like the sharp cheekbones and those endlessly deep dimples.

“Is that-“

“Yes,” Hakyeon replied in a heartbeat because he knew. There was that same breath-taking feeling as when he first saw the mystery man. This had to be him, Sanghyuk’s prince Charming.

Everyone held their breath as the horse came to a stop in front of them, its rider totally out of breath but grinning at Sanghyuk from ear to ear. “I heard you found my shoe?”

Sanghyuk of course was completely overwhelmed and obviously caught in a daze. Hakyeon didn’t fault him for it though, this boy was a vision and a half. He’d be staring as well but there was still a mission they had to finish. Seeing as Sanghyuk wasn’t going to make the first move, Hakyeon pressed the shoe into his stomach, effectively breaking him out of his state of hypnosis.

“Stop embarrassing me in front of this handsome young man and give him his shoe, will you?”

To make sure Sanghyuk would do as told he gave him a shove in the stranger’s direction and leaned back to enjoy the show. Sanghyuk came up to the stranger, who was still sitting on his horse, and held up the shoe for him to try. As predicted, the shoe slipped right onto the stranger’s foot.

The scene could have come straight out of a fairy tale as Hakyeon watched the stranger – Hongbin was his name – slide down from his horse and straight into Sanghyuk’s waiting arms. For a moment there was a hint of doubt on Hongbin’s face but with a couple of words from Sanghyuk it turned back into an even brighter smile and before Hakyeon knew it, they were kissing.

 _Fucking finally_ , Hakyeon thought as he joined Wonshik’s cheering. It was then that Hakyeon noticed something else though. From the corner of his eyes he spied Lady Kim standing in the door, her calm façade had broken and made way for burning anger. Hakyeon knew something was up with her but he was sure to get the whole story from Hongbin later, because even though her glare could probably kill someone, it wasn’t the presence he noticed.

Just then he heard a second horse neigh for attention. Looking towards were Hongbin had come, just behind the wall of guards Hakyeon was caught in the eyes of a stranger staring at him. A stranger with raven hair that would forever look like he just stumbled out of bed and a pair of sinuous red lips that could form into the most irresistible pout in the matter of moments and those eyes. Unnaturally sharp, almost cat like eyes that could look so cold but held such a strength and warmth at the same time. The most expressive eyes in an otherwise unmoving face. Those same eyes looming over him, pleading Hakyeon to stay.  
  


_"Please don't leave me..."_

_Memory Hakyeon suppressed the urge to cough up even more blood. They both knew his time was up. "I'm sorry."_

_"I'll find you again, I promise..."_

_He forced a wobbly smile and with even shakier hands Hakyeon tried to wipe away his lovers tears. "I can't wait to see you again..."  
  
_

Hakyeon felt his own eyes growing wet at all those feelings. It couldn’t be, could it? Hakyeon didn’t dare to hope in case his imagination was running wild again, but it had been _so_ long. Years upon years hoping against hope that maybe one day he’d be able to see the one person that mattered most in his life again. 

As the first tear spilt over the brink of Hakyeon’s eyes the stranger started moving. First one step, then two, then three before Hakyeon was spurred into motion, breaking into a sprint and finally, after decades of longing he was _finally_ able to fall back into those strong, elegant arms. The same arms that held him in a tight embrace during his very last breaths. 

“ _Hakyeon_ ,” the softest voice on earth whispered almost reverently and it severed Hakyeon’s last straw.

“ _Taekwoon_ ,” he managed to choke out before breaking down into a sobbing mess. It had been _so very long_ since he’s said that name. The only name that mattered, the name of his soulmate. He didn’t have to wait anymore.

Hakyeon took a stuttering breath, inhaling that sweet, special scent that was home. Home in Taekwoon’s arms.

He could have stayed in this embrace forever but when Taekwoon moved away and their eyes met he couldn’t find it in him to regret it. Taekwoon’s cheek looked like Hakyeon’s felt, red and wet and aching from the stupid grin lighting up his whole face. Slender fingers as delicate as a butterflies wing came to rest on his cheek and he couldn’t help but close his eyes for a moment, relishing the familiar gesture.

“I found you.”

“You did,” Hakyeon said with a watery smile as he reached a shaking hand up towards Taekwoon’s cheek, still as smooth as he remembered. “I missed you, my Taekwoonie.”

At once Taekwoon swooped down and pulled him into a long, loving kiss. Hakyeon could practically taste the smile on Taekwoon’s lips and at once the world stopped. It ceased to exist, leaving only Hakyeon and Taekwoon behind like a moment stuck in eternity.

Neither moved away once the kiss ended. Instead Hakyeon rested his forehead against Taekwoon's with their eyes going cross at the proximity but neither minded much, not here in this moment and finally Hakyeon could speak those magical words he hadn’t spoken in ages.

“I love you.”

And Taekwoon responded in kind with those same magical words that Hakyeon thought he’d never hear again.

“I love you too. So unbelievably much.”

Gravity pulled them close again and Hakyeon slung his arms around Taekwoon’s shoulders, pressing his face right into the juncture were neck meets shoulder as Taekwoon’s arms circled his waist. It was over at last. Sanghyuk found his happy end with Hongbin and Hakyeon got his fairy tale ending with Taekwoon.

Everything was perfect now that his long-lost love was back, safe and sound in his arms.  
  


The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're finished! I hope the ending didn't seem too rushed ^^   
> I tried to kind of explain in the story how Fairy Godparents came to be but I'm not sure it came across that well. So here a proper explanation to maybe help with understanding the ending: 
> 
> To become a Fairy Godparent you need to have led a good, pure life without crime. Once you die you get the chance to either move on into the after life or if you're not ready for that you can come back as a Fairy Godparent with the duty to help others. In my story I had Hakyeon die first and in order to wait for Taekwoon he took up the job as Godparent because he didn't want to move on without Taekwoon. Once Taekwoon died he also took up being a Godparent because he knew that Hakyeon promised to wait for him. Now after years they finally found each other again and everyone lives happily ever after, Yaii! 
> 
> I hope this helped clear some things up, sorry that I couldn't really convey this in the story but it never really seemed to fit anywhere. Anyways, thank you for reading, I hope you have a great day!


End file.
